Here is a very interesting piece written by publishing consultant Mike Shatzkin on his IdeaLogical blog. I believe he has a very good point here and one that authors should also pay attention to. When thinking about a book idea and how to present it, we all must be able to identify the potential market–the reader–both demographically and statistically.
Do you agree?
In what is a first for me, I was on The Casting Couch last night! As evidenced by the proper nouns, I wasn’t making out with some producer here in LA. I did an interview over on BlogTalkRadio (home of our own Mr. Media while you’re there) with Sean Berry, who asked me a bunch of very smart questions about what I do and the publishing industry in general. I really enjoyed it, and we discussed topics that appeal to aspiring authors through pros. So check it out!
Question:
As a follow up to your post on December 1, is it considered good form to let agents who have your full manuscript know when you receive another request for a full (assuming they have not asked for an exclusive)? I want to be above-board and professional, but I don’t want to needlessly pressure (or annoy!) agents who have my work.
Answer:
The short answer to this is no, you generally shoudn’t inform an agent who is reading your manuscript that you have received another such request. It can be difficult discerning what can be considered a faux-pas when it comes to submitting your work, but where updating agents on who else is reviewing your material is concerned, this isn’t something we request or expect. We do always appreciate a writer’s desire to cross their Ts and dot their Is, but there’s no need to worry about this one!
Keep sending in your questions to news@dystel.com!
December 08, 2009 
DG&B 
advice, Chasya, Chasya's Questions Corner, conferences, Jim, Lauren, Michael, pitch sessions, Stacey Another excellent question from one of our readers:
What are the biggest mistakes writers make when pitching their work at a writers’ conference?
Answer:
I asked around to several other agents here to find out what sorts of things make writers stand out to them during pitch sessions–and not in a good way. These were some of their replies:
I think the biggest issue I have is when people over-rehearse. It sounds so phony and it’s not engaging. I want people to talk naturally about their work, and while they should be able to do so easily, I don’t want it to sound like they’re reading from cue cards (or even worse, ACTUALLY reading from note cards).
-Michael
I don’t know that I’d classify it as a big mistake, but I don’t like it when pitches go on too long, they need to be concise, and it’s hard to be objective when the pitcher gets really emotional, so I’d say keep it professional.
-Stacey
I’d say the biggest mistake is pitching a book that isn’t done: not complete, not revised, not read by a critique group or trusted friends and then revised again. It’s a waste of everyone’s time. An author that has a pitch session lined up before figuring out that they should have been further along in the process is better off taking the time to ask more general questions than pitching a book the agent can’t consider that the author might never complete—or that might be a very different book by the time they do finish.
-Lauren
I’d say being completely and utterly terrified. Or too reliant on a script. People trip themselves up and forget that all they really have to do is talk about their book. It’s better to be enthusiastic and calm than it is to be super-precise. Oh, and don’t bring props.
-Jim
We need more of your questions! Please send inquiries to news@dystel.com.
In light of Miriam’s post on good holiday gifts, and Stacey’s elaboration on what she’s looking for, I figured I’d post my own holiday wish list, the projects that I’d love to discover in my virtual stocking, the visions of submissions/sugarplums that dance in my head.
As some of you might know, I had identical twin girls 10 months ago, and have 2 “older” girls at home (3 and 4 1/2). So, while I have continued to work throughout my entire pregnancies and maternity leaves, my life has had a lot to do with topics like dirty diapers, play dates, and nursery schools lately. Listening to some of the respondents from Lauren’s earlier post, I wanted to give a little insight into what I’m looking for right now. For obvious reasons, I’d like to see more smart, unique, well-told parenting titles. The category is really overcrowded, so it’s important that the authors have a strong platform, a fresh message, and a voice that resonates with today’s overstressed, exhausted parents. It doesn’t have to be practical either. There are some great narrative books out there that aren’t in the parenting category per se, but appeal to that market, books like the one I just recommended on our site, One and the Same by Abigail Pogrebin. I’m also always looking for more narrative nonfiction, like a project I represent, The Widow Clicquot, which tells the little known story of the dynamic French woman who created the champagne brand. Another category I’m very fond of both personally and professionally is memoir. Also overcrowded but when it works, it’s so satisfying , like Come Back by Claire and Mia Fontaine, which I’ve blogged about before, and which I sold after sending the proposal to 54 publishers before finding the right one! It helps for memoir to have a platform already in place, like Shreve Stockton’s The Daily Coyote, based on her very popular blog. In the practical area, I am always interested in working with how-to authors on craft books and cookbooks. And finally, I’ve had some good success recently with young adult fiction, and I’d love to see more smart, quality work in that area. I hope to hear from you soon with new submissions!
(Now seems a good time to point your attention to our relatively new sidebar: “I wish I saw more…” We’ll use it as a way to keep you all up to date on the “Why can’t someone just send me a query for X?” conversations that go on ’round the DGLM offices. Check it out to the right! UPDATE: Sorry, I meant to thank Susan at Stony River for the excellent idea!! -Lauren)
Question:
I just found out that two of the agents who are reading the full ms not only share office space, but they also share interns (based on articles and blog postings from various sources).
I know that agents usually don’t talk about their potential projects with each other, but how awkward could this get?
Answer:
Great question. This entirely depends on the agents’ policy. If two agents merely share office space and do not work within the same company, it is usually ok to submit to both so long as neither specifies that you shouldn’t do so. Even if these agents talk to each other about potential projects, unless they specify that they won’t accept submissions if you’ve queried Agent B in the same office suite, then you haven’t done anything wrong.
It’s a bit different if these agents share office space and they work within the same company, however. Agencies have different policies about submissions of this kind, so we can’t speak for everyone. Within the publishing world, this can be considered a submission faux pas. We here at DGLM do not accept submissions to multiple agents at this agency precisely because we will not compete with each other in-house for projects and we do regularly share things that we feel are more appropriate for a colleague than for us. There may be some agencies that don’t mind.
The bottom line is to do your research and make sure that you follow the submission guidelines for the agency you query. If you do that, you should be ok!
We need more of your questions! Please send inquiries to news@dystel.com.
Jesse Kornbluth has some words of wisdom to share in this week’s PW about the author’s role in guiding his/her destinies in this brave new publishing world. Check it out and let us know your thoughts….
(Happy Thanksgiving! We’ll see you all again on Monday!)
by Jim
I’m glad someone finally found a way to effectively help writers meet deadlines: the threat of punishment.
Write or Die. Because sometimes encouragement just doesn’t cut it anymore.
(via Nathan Bransford)
November 18, 2009 DG&B advice, future of publishing, marketing/publicity, nonfiction, platform, sports, Stacey I think there are some lessons to be learned from the Bill Simmons school of publishing. This recent article from the New York Times talks about how his unconventional (and relatively rapid) rise to fame might just become the most conventional approach to successful platform-building out there. And it also zeros in on at least one reason why he is so popular: he’s just a fan like the rest of us, so he’s very relatable. I am a big baseball fan (I don’t want to mention I root for the Mets, but as a season ticket holder, I’m bound to be found out sooner or later) and represent a number of great sports writers. When it comes to selling sports books and nonfiction books in general, platform becomes a big discussion point. How Simmons has grown his in a grassroots way by blogging and using the Internet, and moving away from print, is pretty telling. And his rabid fans can’t seem to get enough. It’s amazing that his new book about all things basketball is a #1 NY Times bestseller (when was the last time a book about basketball hit #1, and it’s over 700 pages?!), and really illustrates the power of a successful platform. This article also offers some good easy-to-know, but hard-to-follow advice on how to build your platform by blogging and how to keep people coming back once you get there.